Datebook
THURSDAY, MAY 11
UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU. Military recruitment isn't going as badly as the news might suggest: In March alone, more than 13,000 people joined the active services, the 10th consecutive month in which recruitment goals were met. Higher enlistment and reserve bonuses, better education benefits, and changes in recruitment standards (raising the age from 34 to 39 and accepting recruits below certain aptitude levels) may have all helped. But some groups have loudly challenged the practices, particularly the focus on low-income and minority youths. Today, community activists and legal advocates will discuss the problem at a recruitment conference at the City University of New York. One vocal participant is likely to be the New York Civil Liberties Union, which recently sued the Department of Defense, alleging its database of high school student information--including ethnicities and Social Security numbers--violates privacy rights.
FRIDAY, MAY 12
BEHEMOTH AFLOAT. The world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, will be christened in New York Harbor. It comes in at 160,000 gross registered tons and can accommodate 3,634 guests. Along with run-of-the-mill amenities like a spa and a casino, the mammoth liner offers a shipboard surfing simulator, cantilevered whirlpools, a full-size boxing ring, and nightly parades down a promenade the length of a football field. As amazing as those statistics are, Freedom won't reign as the biggest in the fleet for long. Royal Caribbean already has a larger ship on order, set to sail in the fall of 2009. Named Genesis, it will hit 220,000 gross registered tons and have room for 5,400 passengers.
SATURDAY, MAY 13
SAINTHOOD AHEAD. Shots fired 25 years ago today by Turkish hit man Mehmet Ali Agca nearly brought an end to the tenure of Pope John Paul II. But the pontiff who had inspired hopes for democracy in his native Poland survived not only to forgive his would-be assailant but also to witness the collapse of the Soviet empire that many believed ordered his slaying. Italy tried but failed to convict six suspects in 1986, but this March an Italian commission drawing on evidence provided by former Soviet archivist Vasili Mitrokhin confirmed suspicions of a Kremlin-led plot. Proof that the "evil empire" conspired against John Paul has added to the aura of the man whose immediate sainthood was called for by thousands of pilgrims at his funeral last year. Responding to those appeals, Pope Benedict XVI put John Paul on the fast track for beatification, the first step toward canonization.
HONORING THE BIRDS. In the shadow of bird flu, bird migration has taken on an ominous tone. But today is a day to forget those fears and celebrate the marvels of an avian phenomenon. International Migratory Bird Day, sponsored by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, focuses on the nearly 350 species of birds that migrate between their nesting habitats in North America and wintering grounds farther south. Each species has its own route: Some ruby-throated hummingbirds, for instance, fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico--a journey of 500 miles--whereas the blackpoll warbler continues much farther south to Brazil or Peru by way of the West Indies. For billions of migrating birds, the destination is the boreal forest. Stretching from Alaska to Newfoundland, it is a favorite place for birds to nest and raise their young. Hence its nickname: "North America's Bird Nursery."
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